Don't Tease The Lion

If you saw a lionNot within a cage,Would you tease and fret himTill he roared in rage?Would you tempt his angerAnd his savage power,Knowing he could crush you,Kill you, and devour?

Yet I know some peopleWho, morn and noon and night,Tease and fret with bittersThe lion-appetite.It matters not what ails them,For each disease and allThey seem to think there's healingIn demon alcohol.

So they fret the lion,And anger him, until,In his awful power,He springs up to kill.Let me warn you, children,From this foolish way.Do not tease the lion,Nor tempt him any day.

Don't believe the doctorsIf they say you needAny wines or ciders;For there are, indeed,Better cures, and safer,Than these drinks, that slayMore than a hundred peopleWithout fail each day.